Rolo Cookies

Another fabulous recipe from the Six Sisters' Stuff website!!!  I forgot to take a picture (because we ate them so quickly), so check out their website to see how great these turn out!!  I was afraid that the caramel in the cookie would get hard once they cooled, but they were soft and chewy the following day!! YUM!!

Picture from the Six Sisters' Stuff website

Ingredients:
1 pkg. Rolo's
1 box Devils Food Cake mix
2 eggs
1/3 c. oil

Directions:
Mix cake mix, oil, and eggs. Take a small ball of dough and form a ball around the rolo. (Only use enough dough to cover the rolo so it can spread through the cookie.)

Place on greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 7-8 minutes. Yields about 3 dozen.

Sprinkle with powdered sugar, if desired.

Recipe from Six Sisters' Stuff

Andes Mint Cookies

I have been searching for a good mint-y cookie that involves Andes mints (since they are Scott's fav) and I found a great one from the Six Sisters' Stuff website!!!  These cookies are so easy and so yummy!!!! Enjoy!!

Pardon the picture quality! 
It was from my phone!

Ingredients:
1 Devil's Food Cake Mix
1/2 cup oil
2 eggs
1 package of Andes Mints




Directions:
Mix cake mix, oil, and eggs together. Drop spoonfuls of dough onto baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 6-9 minutes. Don't cook any longer than that! You don't want them to be overdone!
Take sheet out of oven and while the cookies are still very hot, place an Andes Mint on top of each cookie. In about 5 minutes, the mint will be melted. Take a spoon and smooth out each mint like frosting.


Recipe from Six Sisters' Stuff

Butter Spritz Cookies

These cookies are one of my favorites and one's that my family LOVES!!!  Make sure you have a decent cookie press to make cool trees and flowers!

Christmas trees before they were cooked

Ingredients:
1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 sticks unsalted butter
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 cups sifted flour
Sprinkles for garnish

Flowers after they were cooked

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a mixer with a paddle attachment, add the sugar and the butter. Mix until light and fluffy. Add the egg, vanilla and almond extracts and mix to incorporate. Sift together the baking powder and the flour. Add the flour mixture. Mix until combined. Using a cookie press, press cookies onto ungreased cookie sheets. Top with the sprinkles of your choice. Bake for 5 to 8 minutes, or until firm, but not yet browning.

Recipe from Food Network

Allina's Surprise B-Day Pub Crawl

Thanks to everyone who joined us to celebrate my bff's birthday out in North Park!  We had tons of fun roaming the streets of North Park and finding random people to partake in the "Picture Scavenger Hunt"!

Comfort Food: Meat Lasagna & Lasagna Florentine

Florentine Lasagna

15 min Prep Time
40 min Cook Time
Serves 6

Ingredients:
8oz (1/2 package) Lasagna noodles (cooked)
1 container (15oz) Ricotta Cheese
2 Cups shredded fresh spinach leaves
2 Eggs, slightly beaten
1 1/2 Teaspoon garlic powder
Salt & Pepper
1 Jar (26oz) Spaghetti Sauce
2 Cups (8oz) Shredded mozzarella
Optional:
8oz Cottage Cheese
Shredded Parmesan Cheese

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400F
Cook and drain pasta according to package directions
In bowl, combine ricotta, spinach, eggs, garlic powder, and salt & pepper to taste (& cottage cheese if you choose to use it).
Spread 1/2 cup spaghetti sauce in 13x9 inch baking dish
Layer with 3 lasagna pieces, half the ricotta mixture, 1/2 cup mozzarella and 1/2 cup sauce
Repeat layers once.
Top with remaining lasagna, sauce, and mozzarella.
Bake (uncovered) in oven for 35-40 minutes.

**May need to place lasagna on cookie sheet in case sauce drips over baking dish**




For Meat Lasagna
Instead of eggs, spinach, & garlic powder, brown ground beef or ground turkey with onions and garlic and add to either the cheese or the spaghetti sauce!

**I also add extra mozzarella because I like it cheesy!!!**

Innovation Week

In my class at USD, we were given the joyous task of designing our own Innovation Week in lieu of our regular tasks for the class... so that meant we got to do ANYTHING we wanted! I opted to do more cooking for my Innovation Week and here is the rundown...

EDUC 578: University of San Diego: The rundown of my Innovation Week!: Previous Weeks Dinner: Grilled Tilapia, Roasted Eggplant, Wild Brown Rice Medley, and Steamed Veggies Day 1 (Monday): Stuffed Feta and ...

Day 8: Back to Long Beach

More to come!

Day 7: Last Sea Day :(

More to come!

Day 6: Sea Day!

More to come

Day 5: Puerto Vallarta Extreme Canopy Excursion

If you ever get the chance to visit Puerto Vallarta, you HAVE to go check out Vallarta Adventures!!  It took A LOT of convincing to get Scott to get on board with this excursion, but I luckily found a deal on their website for over 50% off of what the cruise line was asking, so we booked the Outdoor Adventure (or the Extreme Canopy!)  Unfortunately, we did not know that land time (Puerto Vallarta time) was an hour ahead of ship time, so we had to cancel the tour, but again with some convincing, we bought the excursion on the ship... Although we paid double the price (compared to the deal that I found), the excursion was soooooooooo much fun!  We started off with a speed boat adventure from the cruise port over to the area where we would be doing the zipline.  Then took a jeep jungle tour up to the jungle.  Once we survived the off-road trek and major motion sickness, we arrived to our destination and met our tour guides and the adventure began!!!!  BEST PART OF THE TRIP BY FAR!! Enjoy the pictures!

Our Jeep!

I'll call Scott's mule, El Borracho!

My mule's name is La Guitarra

First zipline!

Yeaaahh!!

Waterfall Rappel

So COOL!

Zipline into a little lagoon!

Our group!!

Check out those guns!

Day 4: Second day in Cabo San Lucas!

More to come

Day 3: Our first port in Cabo San Lucas!

More to come!

Day 2: First Sea Day!!

More to come

Adios California... Mexican Riviera HERE WE COME!

So... We leave for the Mexican Riviera today!!  After long, long, did I say LONG??? lines trying to get on the the Carnival Splendor, we finally arrived, dropped off our bags at our room and started our binge eating!!!  Lunch included shrimp and carne asada burritos!! YUM!!!

More to come!

Leftover butternut squash?? Try this Butternut Squash Salad with Hazelnuts & Blue Cheese (or Feta!)

Hands-on Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes
Serves: 4

Leftover butternut squash (from previous recipe) or 1 1/2 lbs butternut squash, delicata squash, or sugar pumpkin-- peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch pieces
5 tablespoons olive oil
Salt & Pepper
1/2 cup hazelnuts
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
6 cups mixed greens (about 4 1/2 ounces)
1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
4 ounces blue cheese, crumbled (1 cup) or sub feta (I LOVE FETA!)

Heat oven to 400F.  On a rimmed baking sheet, toss the squash with 2 tablespoons oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper (now who really measures that out???  Give a healthy coat of EVOO or Olive oil and shake some salt & pepper on top!)  Roast, tossing once, until golden brown and tender, 30 to 35 minutes.  Let cool slightly.

Meanwhile, spread the hazelnuts on a second rimmed baking sheet and toast in oven, tossing occasionally, until fragrant, 10 to 12 minutes.  Let cool slightly, then rub in a clean dish towel to remove the skins (discard skins).  Roughly chop.

In a large bowl, whisk together vinegar, mustard, the remaining 3 tablespoons of oil, and 1/4 teaspoon each of salt & pepper.  Add the squash, hazelnuts, greens, and onion , and toss to combine.  Sprinkle with the cheese!

**Now I'm thinking since I don't have hazelnuts, I'll sub roasted almonds and since I'm a feta lover, I'll sub that in as well.  I'm also not too sure how the bf will feel about this vinaigrette, so I'll keep the salad dry and we can add our own dressing as we please!  I'm thinking bottle basalmic or poppy seed dressing may work and cut down the prep time!!!

Recipe from Real Simple Magazine, October 2011

Tortellini with Butternut Squash, Mushroom, & Fontina

Hands-on Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Serves: 4

1 small butternut squash (2 lbs), peeled & cut into 1-inch cubes
1/2 button or cremini mushrooms, stems trimmed & halved if large (I used cut up baby bella mushrooms c...uz that's what I had)
1/4 cup fresh sage leaves (I actually used thyme cuz I didn't have fresh sage)
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt & Black Pepper
1 lb. fresh or frozen cheese tortellini (I had spinach & cheese tortellini & cheese ravioli, so i used that)
2 ounces fontina or gruyere, grated=1/2 cup

Heat oven to 450F. On a rimmed (or 2 depending on how much butternut squash you have) toss the squash, mushrooms with sage & oil, salt, & pepper. Roast, tossing once, until tender. About 20-25 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook the tortellini according to the package directions. Reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking water; drain the tortellini and return to the pot. Add the squash & mushrooms, fontina, 1/4 cup cooking water, and 1/2 teaspoon salt and toss gently to coat (add more water if the pasta seems dry). Sprinkle with additional fontina.

**Now, I used gruyere, cuz I had some leftover and instead roasting the mushrooms, I actually made a cheesy mushroom garlic cream sauce instead of making the sauce in the recipe with the cooking water... For the cream sauce, I put a little extra virgin olive oil in a pot, added fresh chopped garlic & the mushrooms & sauteed for a bit. Then I added half & half (or you can use heavy cream which will make it thicker, but I had some half & half & used that). I brought it to a boil and to make it a little thicker, I added some flour to my half & half, then added the cheese and it made the sauce! Poured the sauce over the tortellini & butternut squash & added more gruyere cheese to the top! It was soooo good!!!



Recipe from Real Simple Magazine, October 2011

Chicken Parmigiana

Another one of my go-to recipes that I know will turn out GREAT every time!!!  Sometimes I make it alone, or I'll add whole wheat pasta to the dish!  Enjoy!!


Chicken Pamigiana Recipe
From the PBS Website

Ingredients

Serves 4 | Prep time: 35 minutes | Total time: 35 minutes
 

3/4 cup plain breadcrumbs

3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

8 chicken cutlets or 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, halved horizontally (about 1 1/2 pounds total)

Salt and fresh ground pepper

1 large egg, lightly beaten

2 cups jarred tomato sauce or Easy Chunky Tomato Sauce

1/4 cup olive oil

6 ounces mozzarella cheese, preferably fresh, cut into eight 1/4-inch-thick slices 

Directions

1. Heat broiler. Combine breadcrumbs and parmesan in a shallow bowl. Season both sides of chicken with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Dip chicken in the beaten egg, then dredge in breadcrumb mixture, turning to coat both sides.
2. Spread tomato sauce onto the bottom of a 10-by-15 inch baking dish. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Place 4 chicken cutlets in skillet; cook until golden, 1 to 2 minutes on each side. Using a spatula, transfer browned cutlets to baking dish, placing them on top of sauce. Repeat with remaining oil and cutlets.
3. Top each cutlet with a slice of mozzarella. Broil about 4 inches from heat source until sauce is hot and cheese is melted and lightly browned in spots, 5 to 8 minutes. Serve immediately.

Quinoa (pronounced Keen-Wa)

Ok... I've been obsessed with eating this whole grain that is high in protein.  Here's one of my favorite recipes.  I usually never follow directions of recipes, so the first time I cooked this, I used orange beets, didn't use leeks (cuz I couldn't find it) and I added butternut squash (yum!).  Second time around, I used the red beets (personally I like the orange beets better) and added garlic to the recipe and this time I found leeks.


Quinoa Hash Recipe 
From Whole Living

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 1 large sweet potato, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 2 1/2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
• Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
• 2 beets, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch wedges, greens reserved and rinsed well
• 1 tablespoon white-wine vinegar
• 4 large eggs
• 1 leek, white and pale-green parts only, halved lengthwise, cut 1/4 inch thick, and rinsed well
• 1 cup cooked quinoa (from 1/4 cup dry)
• 3/4 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Toss sweet potato with 1/2 teaspoon oil and 1/4 teaspoon salt; spread in an even layer on half of a rimmed baking sheet. Toss beets with 1/2 teaspoon oil and 1/8 teaspoon salt; spread on other half of sheet (so that beets don't discolor potatoes). Roast, stirring halfway through, until tender, 35 to 40 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, bring a large saucepan of water to a boil; add vinegar. Break each egg into a teacup. Reduce heat so that water is just simmering. Slightly immerse 1 teacup, and gently slide egg into water. Use a spoon to fold edges of white over egg. Repeat with remaining eggs. Simmer until whites are just set but yolks are runny, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer eggs to a towel using a slotted spoon, and drain.
3. Thinly slice beet greens. Heat 1 1/2 teaspoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add greens, leek, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; cook until tender and lightly browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in quinoa, thyme, and vegetables; press down using a rubber spatula. Cook until quinoa is warm, 1 to 2 minutes. Divide among 4 plates; top each with 1 egg, and season with a pinch of pepper.

Here's a picture of when I cooked the dish w/ red beets

May 2011: Seattle, Washington

So, to celebrate the end of my first year as a graduate student at USD, I traveled to Washington to visit my brother, sister-in-law, and my nieces and nephew. It was perfect timing since it was also my niece, Kaila's, First Communion. Here are some pictures of her Communion and a hike my brother and I did called Rattlesnake Ledge in the North Bend (located in Washington's Central Cascades, about 45 minutes out of Seattle).

May 2011: Washington

I love spending time with my nieces and nephews!!! While in Washington, we spent lots of time at the park, went to a "German" party and enjoyed the sun while San Diego got the rain! :)